The proposed invention relates to small arms, in particular to cartridge charging devices and cartridge meters for box magazines.
The Lula_24216 speed loader by Butler Creek company (e-guns(dot)com(dot)ua/product_info(dot)php?products id=316) is known, which is made as a locking attachment placed to an arms magazine neck which upper portion is provided with an hole for loading cartridges into the attachment and a plunger having two cams connected to the handle, said plunger being capable of turning to a certain angle axially. The handle may rotate axially to two extreme positions limited by the attachment housing. While the handle is in each of the extreme positions, one of the cams moves to the lowest position and presses on a cartridge placed in the attachment housing, the cartridge being sunk and fixed in the magazine. Actually, this device makes loading of a magazine easier, acting similarly to the man's fingers, when a magazine is loaded manually.
Drawbacks of this device are the necessity of using it for loading, time losses due to the necessity of its mounting and dismounting to/from a magazine, long time required for placing cartridges one-by-one to the attachment aperture, absence of a meter for loaded cartridges.
Speed loaders for cartridges arranged in clips are known: AK Speed Loader Part#Ldraka01 (China) (http://centerfiresystems (dot)com/ldraka01(dot)aspx): charging device for a clip for a magazine for AK74 (USSR) (popgun(dot)ru/viewtopic(dot)php?f=146&t=8930). In order to use these devices, cartridges, first, are loaded into clips by 10-15 cartridges, then adapters are mounted to magazine necks, loaded clips are inserted into these adapters, and cartridges are pressed along the clip guides by the thumb.
Drawbacks of these systems are the necessity of providing clips and adapters, time losses for loading clips beforehand and for mounting adapters onto magazines, the necessity of applying high forces for pressing cartridges into a magazine, and the absence of a cartridge meter.
A cartridge meter used in CD-MaG magazines by Command Arms company (US), which is manufactured by CAA Tactical company (Israel) and consists of a band with fluorescent figures applied to it and a color scale used for rough estimate of a cartridge number in a magazine, the scale being connected to a follower and having a spring for winding the band onto a drum (e-guns(dot)com(dot)ua/product info(dot)php?cPath=21_24&products id=274).
A drawback of this meter is the absence of the possibility of tactile determination of a number of cartridges left in a magazine and the possibility of ensuring their loading into the magazine.
Electronic meters of ammunition for pistols, as manufactured by Rade Technology company, are known (all-guns(dot)ru/novosti/schechik-boepripasov-ot-rade-technology(dot)html). These devices consist of a sensor in a special magazine and a LED indicator or display for figures, which are arranged on changeable grip side pieces. They have the following drawbacks: the necessity of changing power cells and replacing a standard magazine and standard grip side pieces.
A cartridge meter is known (RU Patent No. 2370718), which operates on the principle of determining a distance between the follower and the magazine base and has magnetically sensitive, or infrared, or ultrasonic distance indicators and a LED display on arms. Drawbacks are: complexity of this device, the necessity of changing power cells, the standard magazine and arms grip side pieces.
A magazine with the indication of a number of cartridges is known (RU Patent No. 2030703), which has apertures on the magazine walls, these apertures being displaced relative to each other along the housing width. Opposite to each aperture, the follower housing is provided with a row of figures corresponding to a number of cartridges read in the corresponding aperture when the follower passes it. This device has the following drawbacks: determination of cartridges in a magazine is complicated in the dark, and tactile determination of cartridges is impossible.
The reviewed sources do not teach any systems of cartridge meters and charging devices that are combined in a single device.